The auction took place at noon on the steps of the Jefferson County Courthouse in Birmingham, the newspaper reported online.

The auction is part of collection efforts against the HealthSouth co-founder, who faces a $2.8 billion civil judgment.

The fraud at HealthSouth emerged in 2003 after an FBI raid on the U.S. 280 headquarters. Thousands of workers were fired and bankruptcy was narrowly averted after it emerged that the company, from 1996 through 2002, deceived investors by reporting fake profits while incurring actual losses of $2.4 billion.

Scrushy is in federal prison in Beaumont after he was convicted of bribing former Alabama Gov. Don Siegelman for a spot on the state board that authorizes new hospitals. He has about 4?? years to go on his sentence.

Former company Chief Executive Scrushy is seeing his goods sold to the highest bidder because in May he lost a Jefferson County, Alabama, Circuit Court civil trial and was found liable for the accounting fraud that almost destroyed the operator of physical-therapy clinics, The Birmingham News reported.

He was ordered to pay the company $2.8 billion to compensate it for its recovery from the fraud, which a judge said was concocted to boost the stock price.

Since Scrushy hasn't ponied up any cash to settle the bill, his houses and possessions have been seized by court order and are being sold to the highest bidder.

The Longleaf Drive estate recently was appraised for $4 million. In September, shareholders submitted the hid bid for the auction of Scrushy's $7.4 million Lake Martin house.

The shareholders plan on selling the house later for cash that would be paid to the company.